The Riverbend
by Tabidot
Summary: In the aftermath of a devastating twoleg invasion, the Clans find themselves struggling to rebuild themselves in their own borders. When a leaderless SkyClan and a power-hungry RiverClan clash in a war of ideals, it is up to three apprentices to go beyond Clan borders stop the encroaching war- before their Clans' pride destroys everything.
1. Allegiances

_**Co-Leaders**_

Bubblefleck: black and white tom with a shredded ear and missing tail, and a purple collar

Frothbelly: white warrior with black ears and tail

 _Apprentice: Gnarlpaw_

 _ **Medicine Cats**_

Tricklestream: elderly fawn-and-white she cat with wispy fur

 _Apprentice: Poppypaw_

 _ **Warriors**_

Thornbite: Dark brown elderly tom with a crooked jaw

Redheart: Ruddy she-cat with tufted ears and green eyes

Swirlheart: Tall, nearly hairless brown tabby she-cat

 _ **Apprentices**_

Poppypaw: tawny she-cat with speckled stripes and orange eyes

Gnarlpaw: very tall, nearly hairless brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

 **RIVERCLAN**

 _ **Leader**_

Heronstar: tall, long-furred grey elderly she-cat

 _ **Deputy**_

Otterhop: young brown-and-ginger tom with white paws and muzzle

 _apprentice: Swanpaw_

 _ **Medicine cat:**_

Carptail: elderly ginger she-cat

 _ **Warriors**_

Beavertail: large ginger tom with a white belly and muzzle

 _apprentice: Racconpaw_

Doveflight: Dilute tortieshell warrior with white belly and muzzle

Gooseheart: tall, long-furred silver tabby she-cat

 _apprentice: Lichenpaw_

Icefoot

Branchtail

apprentice: _Sweetpaw_

Moonheart

Whitebelly

 **QUEENS**

Ducksplash: black she-cat with a white chest (kits: Hollykit, Finchkit, and Lightkit)

 **Elders**

Frostgaze

Heavybelly

 **THUNDERCLAN**

 **LEADER**

Squirrelstar: Ginger and brown she-cat with white splotches and green eyes

 **DEPUTY**

Applefall: black she-cat with orange streaks and a white chest

 **Medicine Cats**

Flameheart: ginger and white tom

Speckleleaf: brown and orange tabby

 **WINDCLAN**

 **Leader**

Ravenstar

 **Deputy**

Ospreyfeather

 **Medicine Cat**

Minkfeather

Coalpaw

 **SHADOWCLAN**

 **Leader**

Snowstar

 **Deputy**

Vinestripe

 **Medicine Cats**

Owlspots

Snakepaw

(NOTE: ShadowClan, ThunderClan, and Windclan have many more cats than listed. They just aren't relevant to the story.)


	2. Prologue

Bearbelly had never seen so many twolegs.

The sound was deafening: the foreign shouts of twolegs, the cries of his clanmates, the roar in his ears. He stood motionless at the edge of camp for a heartbeat, unable to force his paws to move.

"Bearbelly!" A familiar shout brought him to his senses. Whipping around, he located the source: a strange, shiny den. There was long, glimmering strings of stone across the entrance, but in the shadows beyond he saw the glimmer of amber eyes.

"Larkstar!" He darted over to her, his paws barely missing the hard paw of a twoleg. He stopped at the entrance of the den, peering in.

His leader was crouched inside, her legs too tall to straighten in the cramped interior. Still, her eyes blazed, but from terror or rage Bearbelly couldn't tell.

The brown deputy hooked his teeth around the cold stone bars, but they didn't budge.

"Bearbelly, stop!" Larkstar yowled over the commotion.

"Wha-"

"Go help your Clanmates!" Larkstar's eyes were round with desperation, but her words were firm. Bearbelly tugged at the den entrance with his claws, but stopped when pale claws swatted him. "I said now!"

Bearbelly heard the call of a twoleg, and felt heavy pawsteps approach him across the forest floor. His yellow eyes darted first to the approaching twoleg, and then to the tan tabby trapped beside him. Then, with a brisk nod, he streaked past the twoleg and further into the camp.

All he saw was twolegs at first. His heart skipped a beat as he saw the same types of den Larkstar was trapped in at the edge of camp, with the unmistakable scent of not only his clanmates, but those from ThunderClan, WindClan, Shadowclan...

He then saw his own clanmates, running from place to place in the camp. Heatherpaw was cornered next to the small dens, hissing in terror at the pale paws reaching down for her. Russetstorm was writhing wildly in the clutches of a twoleg, screeching profanities as she was shoved away into one of the dens. Bearbelly jumped to help, but backpedalled as a large, heavy pair of paws as big as him stepped in front of him. He didn't have time to look as he darted between the legs of the twoleg, feeling more than ever like the mice he hunted.

How could this be happening? His heart lurched as he saw Deerspots, feeble in her old age, be swept into the air by giant, furless paws. He was deputy for StarClans sake, but even he couldn't stop his mind from whirling.

"Get away from my kit!"

It was Rosecloud. The short tawny queen was trapped between two twolegs, and under her thick belly fur was a round-eyed kit: Poppykit.

Bearbelly made it to the pair just as Rosecloud was captured. The queen yowled, clawing wildly in desperation as she was forced to leave her only kit vulnerable. Bearbelly didn't have time to think before he darted in between the spindly legs and grabbed the scruff of the squealing kit.

"Rosecloud!" He yowled. She gave him a single look: one of pain as clear as greenleaf sky. He returned it, and feeing as though his heart was tearing in two, he ran for the edge of camp.

"Bearbelly?" A hiss came from the bramble thicket a few foxlengths away. Bearbelly felt a soar of relief as a white head poked out from the bush, normally calm blue eyes full of fear.

"Frothbelly, thank StarClan you're okay!" His purr was strained as he set the trembling mass of fur in his mouth at the white warrior's paws. "Where's your brother?"

"Bubblefleck is up a tree in the training clearing, with Redpaw and Thornbite. I saw Tricklestream somewhere around there too." They motioned begins them with a flick of their ears. Then, the warriors blue eyes shifted to Poppykit, who shivered pitifully between the two, eyes wide and ears low. "Where's Rosecloud?"

"She..." Bearbelly couldn't choke the rest out. Frothbelly nodded in understanding, and drew Poppykit closer to their chest.

"What should we do?"

Before any answer could be raised, Frothbelly's eyes rounded in terror. Bearbelly felt paws grab his scruff, and let out a screech.

He twisted and flailed, hissing and clawing, but to his horror, he was lifted effortlessly further into the air.

"Take Poppykit!" He screeched. The distance between he and the white warrior was growing, as was his own terror. "Take her and hide!"

The white warrior remained motionless. The twoleg holding Bearbelly motioned with its other paw to another. It had the same trap-dens.

"Go!" His screech tore across the chaotic clearing. Finally, the white warrior obeyed his orders.

The last thing Bearbelly saw before he was closed into the den was Frothbelly's black tail disappearing into the foliage.


	3. Chapter One

For once, Gnarlkit felt rather clever.

This feeling found the she-kit as she was creeping through sparse underbrush that was trampled down by moons of her Clan's travels through it. By the smell of the cats she had grown up with permeating the area, and the proximity of the path to the camp, she figured the place she had ended up was a common haunt. That wasn't why she felt so clever, though. It was the fact that she had snuck out of camp without any of the older cats noticing that gave her whiskers their smug tremble and her tail its pleased curl.

It wasn't as if there were an overabundance of cats to watch her, especially with most of the Clan on Bubblefleck's dawn patrol. The only cats left around camp were Tricklestream, the elderly medicine cat who Gnarlkit had seen dozing in the shadow of the medicine den, and Frothbelly. Gnarlkit felt short stab of anxiety, looking back behind her. Frothbelly was one of the leaders of her small Clan, but they, like always, seemed distracted that day. At least, distracted enough to not notice Gnarlkit creep out of the camp. This fact smoothed her fur, and she continued on.

Gnarlkit had always felt rather tall and out of place in her Clan(indeed, she was a head taller than her best friend, Poppypaw, who had been apprenticed two moons earlier), but the forest made her question this notion. The pine trees towered over her, higher than the ones rimming the camp, and even the bramble bushes seemed taller than she was used to. Rather than frighten her, this observation made the kit grin.

This was an adventure! Gnarlkit spotted a downy feather on the ground a few tail lengths away, and barely registered the stale sent of Thornbite(who she later decided must have made the kill that resulted in the feather). With a trill of glee, she batted it into the air and chased it as it was carried by the sparse breeze forward.

The feather soon became entangled in a holly bushes brightly dotted arms, and the novelty of it wore off. Gnarlkit sat down, idly batting it onto the ground. In all honesty, she had thought she would have been caught by now. Now that she was well away from camp, she had no idea what to do next. Maybe she could find the lake? The older cats were always talking about it, and her mother, Swirlheart, had once described it as like a puddle, but huge. Gnarlkit had wondered if it would be as fun to splash around in as a puddle, and she still did. But, as she opened her mouth to take in the scents around her, the she-kit realized that she had no idea where she was.

The sharp scent of pine, the warm scent of squirrel, the tangy scent of goldenrod: they all mixed together, and made it impossible to navigate one direction or another. Gnarlkit huffed. For the first time in her escapade, she wished Poppypaw was here. Not that Poppypaw would have even let her leave camp, that is.

A snort escaped Gnarlkit as she imagined her friend's shrill cry of indignation. _'The warrior code says kits aren't allowed out of camp!'_

It was always the warrior code with Poppypaw. Even though Gnarlkit was very nearly six moons old and taller than every other cat in her Clan(well, except for Frothbelly), Poppypaw would report her to Bubblefleck the second the notion of exploring came up. She didn't understand why the apprentice couldn't relax a bit. After all, look how far she had gotten!

The breeze shifted, and brought with it a scent Gnarlkit had never smelled before. It was metallic and bitter smelling, and reminded her a bit of the scent that lightning left in the air. Nose twitching and paws buzzing with curiosity, she crept towards the scent.

"Not too fast, kit."

Teeth fastened into her thinly-furred scruff, and Gnarlkit cried out in shock. As she was dragged back onto the path, she twisted her head to see fluffy white fur, and smelled a familiar scent. _Frothbelly!_

Gnarlkit spun around once she was freed, her heart in her throat. The white warrior in front of her didn't look angry, but didn't look incredibly pleased either. Their gaze was even and disinterested as they regarded the gangly she-kit, and the flicked a black ear.

"W-where did you come from!" Gnarlkit squeaked.

"You're not as stealthy as you think." The warrior responded. As if noticing Gnarlkit's anxiety, Frothbelly rolled their eyes. "Don't quiver so much, you're not in trouble. At least, not by me."

Gnarlkit was skeptical, but as the bulky cat settled into a lounging position, she decided they were telling the truth.

"Are you going to take me on patrol with you?" She asked hopefully.

"Sure," they snorted, "A patrol right back to camp."

Gnarlkit sat down with a disappointed grunt, lowering her ears.

"But I got so far too! I didn't even get to see what the weird smell is!"

Frothbelly's nose twitched, and they glanced in the direction of the smell. They turned their pale gaze onto Gnarlkit, getting to their paws.

"I'll show you."

Before Gnarlkit could process what they said, the older cat padded into the brush, motioning with their black tail for Gnarlkit to follow. Despite herself, Gnarlkit's earlier excitement reared back up, and she trotted after Frothbelly, eyes wide and interested.

The two cats came to the edge of a clearing, and Gnarlkit was surprised to see it mostly empty. The only evidence of anything strange was a small pile of charred wood in the center, and a few shiny objects surrounding it. Gnarlkit bounded to the nearest one, ignoring the exasperated huff from the older cat. She pawed the weird, brightly colored thing in front of her, finding it similarly thin to a dried leaf. She looked at Frothbelly, who had padded into the clearing after her.

"What is this stuff?" Gnarlkit wrinkled her nose. "It smells weird."

"It's twoleg stuff." Frothbelly said. "They left last sunhigh, it seems."

"Woah!" Gnarlkit regarded the clearing around her with renewed interest. "What were they doing here?"

Frothbelly opened their mouth to answer, but a much different voice cut through the cool new-leaf air.

"Frothbelly, you found her!"

Out of the bushes came the two cats Gnarlkit least wanted to she her out of camp. Bubblefleck, the other Clan leader, and Poppypaw.

The former bounded over to Gnarlkit, amber eyes round with worry. Before Gnarlkit could say a word, Poppypaw began to covered her head in licks, bombarding her with rebukes.

"How could you just leave camp like that! We were all so worried, we thought you'd gotten eaten by a fox, or-"

Gnarlkit wriggled out of Poppypaw's grasp, both fond and irritated. "I'm fine! Nothing happened, I just decided to explore!"

Poppypaw's face slackened in exhasperation, and she swiped a stubby paw at Gnarlpaw.

"I was still worried! You're a kit, you're not supposed to leave camp!"

"She's right." Bubblefleck turned away from Frothbelly, face settled in his typical scowl. He and Frothbelly, as littermates, looked similar, but Gnarlkit thought the two couldn't be more different. While Frothbelly was always disinterested and unaffected, Bubblefleck seemed to be in a constant state of panic. Now was no different as Frothbelly watched impassively while their brother quivered from almost every strand of fur.

"Thank StarClan we found you, who knows what could have happened to you if the twolegs came back here!" Bubblefleck exclaimed, flicking his shredded tail towards the twoleg garbage.

"She was fine, I've been watching her." Frothbelly seemed to think the fuss was about as silly as Gnarlpaw thought it was. Their words made Poppypaw jump to her paws, and her tail bushed in indignation.

"What-you just let her leave camp?" Poppypaw demanded, "Why didn't you bring her back!"

"She seemed to have it under control. If she would have gotten into trouble, I would have brought her back." Frothbelly explained.

"The Warrior Code says kits aren't supposed to be out of camp!" Poppypaw hissed. The amount of venom in her mew surprised Gnarlkit. She wasn't used to seeing Poppypaw being outright hostile.

"Let's all calm down now," Bubblefleck stepped between the apprentice and his sibling, whiskers trembling. "Let's just head back to camp, and we'll decide her punishment then."

 _Punishment?_ Gnarlkit had forgotten that she was in trouble. All at once, she realized that both of her Clan's leaders had caught her, and a terrible thought entered her mind. _What if they don't make me an apprentice?_

Gnarlkit was surprised to see that everyone was at camp when the group returned. Of course, it was only a pawful of cats, but usually at least one of them was out patrolling or hunting. As the group entered, Redheart glanced over, and Tricklestream poked her head out from the medicine den only to withdraw it moments later. Both to Gnarlkit's dismay and relief, no one seemed very affected by her return. Thornbite, an elder-aged tom with a twisted jaw was dozing on a soft patch of mass near the entrance to camp, and looked up blearily when Bubblefleck padded into camp past him. Green eyes glittering playfully, he looked at Gnarlkit.

"Caught the straggler?"

"Yes." Bubblefleck said, his tone not at all playful. "We found her by the old twoleg campsite."

Gnarlkit lowered her ears at the irritation in his voice, pressing against Poppypaw's soft pelt for reassurance. She hadn't meant to get in trouble. The she-kit was ushered further into camp, wherein Frothbelly and Bubblefleck went to the old leader's den to 'discuss the future', as Bubblefleck had said. Now the kit and medicine cat apprentice were left to themselves in the center of camp.

"I really hope I don't get in trouble." Gnarlkit flopped onto her side, tail swishing across the grass. "I only wanted to have some fun."

"You could have had fun in camp." Poppypaw sniffed, sitting next to her friend despite her air of disapproval. "It's your own fault."

Gnarlkit only whined in response, grabbing her friend's thick tail with one front paw. "I was bored!" She finally whined, "Swirlheart was asleep and didn't want to play and you were out getting herbs or whatever medicine cats do and there's nothing to do at camp!"

"You poor thing," Poppypaw rolled her eyes, but bent down to lick Gnarlkit's ears sympathetically. Gnarlkit grumbled to herself and rolled away maintaining her grip on Poppypaw's tail.

"What's this I hear about my kit leaving camp?" A soft voice interrupted Gnarlkit's moping. The kit craned her head around and saw a tall, nearly-hairless tabby like herself padding over, tail jauntily curling and uncurling.

"Mom!" Gnarlkit shot to her paws. She bounded to Swirlheart and rubbed her jaw alone her's, purring sheepishly. "Sorry if I worried you, I just wanted to explore and no one was around and-"

"Slow down there, kitten." Swirlheart pushed her daughter away gently, eyes alight with laughter. "I wasn't worried. I know any kit of mine can keep her nose out of trouble."

Swirlheart's words sent a warm wave of pride through Gnarlkit, and she puffed out her chest. Truthfully, she doubted her mother had even noticed she was gone, but she appreciated the confidence with which she was regarded. At least some one here didn't think she was a helpless kit!

"Well, I was worried!" Poppypaw said stiffly, licking a dainty paw a few tail lengths away from the mother and daughter. "She could have walked right into the jaws of a badger and not noticed."

"Hey! I'm smarter than that!" Gnarlkit protested. "I'm not a mousebrain!"

"Just kidding there, Gnarl." Poppypaw snorted, whiskers twitching in amusement. Gnarlkit could see the mischievous glint in her friend's eyes, but couldn't help but feel insulted.

"Let all cats gather for a Clan meeting!"

Bubblefleck's call surprised Gnarlkit. The black and white warrior was standing atop a large stump in the center of camp, Frothbelly beside him. Gnarlkit felt her stomach drop to her paws. Was her punishment about to be announced to the whole Clan?

"Let's go and see what this is about." Swirlheart got to her paws. Gnarlkit followed her mother and Poppypaw to the stump, where the three other cats of SkyClan had gathered already. As she took her seat between her companions, Gnarlkit rued her height once more, wishing with all her heart that she could hide behind the older cats as easily as Poppypaw could.

"Gnarlkit has been returned to camp," Bubblefleck announced, flicking his gaze down to the kit. The other cats' eyes burned into her pelt, and she looked at the ground, embarrassed. "And it would be...traditional to punish her." Bubblefleck's words made the kit's pelt even hotter, and she wished that she could sink into the ground to avoid his gaze.

"However, Frothbelly and I have come to a different solution."

Gnarlkit jolted in surprise. While Bubblefleck was as serious as before, Frothbelly had a strange look on their otherwise relaxed face. Were they grinning at her?

"We have decided that, seeing as she has recently reached six moons of age, it is time that she be apprenticed."

"Really!" The exclamation was out of Gnarlkit's mouth before she realized it. Purrs of amusement rang across the group, and Gnarlkit sat back down, ears burning. Excitement coursed through her paws when, after a long look of disapproval, Bubblefleck sighed and dipped his head.

"Gnarlkit, please step forward."

Gnarlkit looked back at Poppypaw and Swirlheart. Her mother didn't look very surprised, and purred proudly. Poppypaw's eyes were round with surprise, but she still choked out a congratulations and nodded for her friend to follow the warrior's orders.

"Gnarlkit, it is time for you to leave the nursery, and as such, I am proud to say that until you reach the end of your training, you will be Gnarlpaw." Bubblefleck flicked his good ear at the new apprentice, a hint of pride coming through his important tone. Gnarlpaw felt a thrill of joy strong enough to make her jump as the cats around her began to chant her new name. She was an apprentice! She looked around at her Clanmates, her chest swelling as they gazed at her with pride.

Bubblefleck cleared his throat. When the echo of the new name died in SkyClan's throat, he continued.

"And, because this was your idea, Frothbelly, you will be Gnarlpaw's mentor."

The clearing went silent with shock. Confused, Gnarlpaw looked around. Why was everyone so surprised? She saw Redheart lean over and mutter something to Thornbite, and saw her mother recoil in surprise. Still, scattered and unsure, the cheer began.

Gnarlpaw, confused and a bit disheartened, turned to face her new mentor, who had joined her in front of the crowd.

To her dismay, they looked just as unhappy and unsure as everyone else seemed to be.


	4. Chapter Two

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur. It seemed like everyone wanted to get it over with as soon as they could, include Gnarlpaw's newly-appointed mentor. The white warrior had just brushed noses with Gnarlpaw when they were dragged away into the leader's den on the outskirts of camp by Bubblefleck. Everyone else dispersed almost immediately, including Swirlheart, who bounded to join her clanmates after giving her daughter a brief word of congratulations.

"I can't believe he made them your mentor!" Poppypaw exclaimed as she met her friend in the center of camp. Gnarlpaw gave her a questioning glance.

"What's wrong with them?" She asked, a knot of anxiety in her belly. "They seem nice enough."

"It's complicated," Poppypaw sniffed, indignation clear in her every movement. "You're too young to understand."

"I'm not too young! You're only two moons older than me!" Gnarlpaw protested, "Why is everyone acting so weird?"

"What I meant was that it happened before you came here." Poppypaw seemed to realize that she had offended the young apprentice, and adopted a more sympathetic look. "It's...clanborn stuff."

 _Not this again!_ Gnarlpaw glowered at the reminder of her arrival in the Clan, not as a SkyClan-born kit, but a rogue kit with her mother. She knew that no one judged her for this- her mother had made sure of it, leaving the nursery almost as soon as Gnarlpaw could walk in order to help her new Clan- but it still stung to hear the weight with which her friend said it.

"Hm. I'll just go and find out for myself then!" Gnarlpaw stuck her nose in the air and stalked past her friend.

"Hey, you know I didn't mean it like that!" Poppypaw protested. Gnarlpaw turned her head and stuck her tongue out at her friend, then bounded the rest of the way to the edge of camp.

The leader's den had laid as an empty bramble thicket in the camp for as long as Gnarlpaw could remember. She knew that it had used to house the old leader, Larkstar, who had been taken by twolegs a moon before she arrived in the Clan. However, with no one to take her place, now the den was only used to discuss private matters, usually between the siblings running the Clan. The bramble walls were high and thick, and offered a good barrier between Gnarlpaw and the older cats talking inside. Hoping no one called her out for it, the apprentice crouched near a gap in the thorny branches and listened.

"...I'm not saying you're lazy, but you can be...aloof?" Bubblefleck sounded less nervous than usual, but his tone still shook. Frothbelly replied with a huff, and Bubblefleck sighed.

"Just take this seriously, okay? She's our first apprentice in moons, and likely is going to be the only one we have in this season cycle." Bubblefleck's plea made Gnarlpaw both proud and anxious. She hadn't realized she'd have so much to live up to.

"If you don't like the way I work, you shouldn't have made me her mentor," Frothbelly spoke for the first time. Gnarlpaw was surprised to hear a teasing edge to their voice. "I'll take this plenty seriously."

There was the sound of pawsteps, and before Gnarlpaw could move, Frothbelly exited the den. They froze and looked at her, clearly surprised. Bubblefleck bounded after his sibling, still stammering a protest when he too saw the young apprentice.

"What is-" Whatever question Bubblefleck was about to ask was cut off when Frothbelly stepped towards Gnarlpaw.

"We're just about to go training." The white warrior padded towards the entrance of camp, then look back at a confused Gnarlpaw.

"Are you coming or not, kit?"

"O-oh yeah!" Gnarlpaw skittered across the grass in her haste to follow her mentor. She could feel Bubblefleck's gaze burning into her back all the way to the bramble tunnel leading into camp. After pulling herself through the branches, scraping her sides on a couple of thorns in the process, she came to a halt in front of Frothbelly.

"Thanks for not telling your brother that I was spying," she said sheepishly. Frothbelly flicked their ears dismissively.

"Don't worry about it," they replied as they began down the trail leading deeper into the forest, "I would have done the same."

"What are we gonna do first?" Gnarlpaw hurried after her mentor, excitement coursing through her. She was finally an apprentice! Despite having been outside of camp what seemed like heartbeats ago, Gnarlpaw was swept away by the grandeur of the forest surrounding her. She was finally a real part of SlyClan! Having forgotten almost entirely about what Poppypaw said, she basked in the pride of being of service to her Clan.

"I'll show you around the territory, I suppose." Frothbelly's lack of enthusiasm was clear in their voice. Her spirits a little dampened, Gnarlpaw slowed to a trot to let her mentor catch up with her. Frothbelly's expression, as always, was uninterested and dull. Maybe they were excited and just didn't know how to show it?

The two cats began first by traveling down the well worn path, where Frothbelly pointed out in a bored-sounding voice the tallest tree Gnarlpaw had ever seen, which the apprentice found was called the 'Sky Pine'. When Gnarlpaw asked if she was allowed to climb it, Frothbelly said no, and veered into the undergrowth without waiting for her. Thorns digging into her pelt, Gnarlpaw shoved through the bramble after them.

Next was the training hollow, a somewhat swampy but otherwise empty clearing surrounded by holly bushes. The ground was covered in faded paw prints, and Gnarlpaw wondered how many of them were from cats taken when the twolegs invaded. A few fox lengths away from the hollow was a patch of pungent smelling herbs, and even though Frothbelly didn't say anything, from moons of Poppypaw's warning, Gnarlpaw knew to not disturb them.

When the duo found themselves at a strange dirt path free of any foliage, Gnarlpaw was worn out. Her long legs ached, and she sat down.

"There's so much territory!" She exclaimed, "I don't know how I'll ever remember it all."

"Eh." Frothbelly sat down a foxlength away from her. "This is only the first border."

"This is a border!" Gnarlpaw jolted to her paws. "Which Clan is it?" For the first time, she smelled the overwhelming odor of other cats, and she wrinkled her nose.

"ThunderClan," Frothbelly said. They jerked their head to the trees at the other side of the path. "Their border is just inside those trees."

"Do you think we'll see any ThunderClan warriors?" Gnarlpaw peered into the trees, expecting any moment to see the gleam of eyes or the flash of pelts in the brush.

"Let's not stick around to find out," Frothbelly said as they got to their paws. "They're no RiverClan, but I still don't want them to catch us on their border."

"What's wrong with RiverClan?" Gnarlpaw asked. Frothbelly led her down the path, and snorted.

"It's all Thornbite and Bubblefleck have been talking about. I'm surprised you haven't heard anything," they said.

"I only really talk to Swirlheart and Poppypaw," Gnarlpaw replied. If she thought about it, she vaguely remembered hearing muttering about the fishy Clan from the older cats, but she never thought to listen.

"RiverClan has been pushing our borders ever since the twoleg invasion," Frothbelly explained, "As far as I know, their leader believes us to be weak without a leader."

"That's so unfair!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, "You and Bubblefleck are our leaders!"

Frothbelly said nothing in reply, instead rolling their eyes and trotting ahead. Gnarlpaw hurried after them. She knew that the other Clans had a leader with nine lives, but in her opinion, Bubblefleck and Frothbelly were good at leading. They always sent out the patrols on time, after all!

"What do you smell?"

Frothbelly's question surprised Gnarlpaw. The hairless apprentice lifted her muzzle to the air and sniffed. She smelled the fresh scent of rain in the air, and the aromatic scent of the pine trees around her, but not much else.

"I'm not sure. Am I supposed to smell prey?" She asked.

"Not right now. You're supposed to be smelling the lake," Frothbelly said.

"Are we close?" Gnarlpaw's heart skipped a beat.

"Come on." Frothbelly led her into the brush, and with renewed energy she followed, paws squelching in the mud. Through the foliage ahead, Gnarlpaw saw a blue glimmer. She raced past her mentor and broke through the underbrush.

The lake was even bigger than Gnarlpaw imagined. The blue water glimmered in the afternoon sun, sending a fresh, clean scent towards the forest. The grass surrounding the lake faded into brown dirt, where gentle waves disturbed the still waters surface. Across the lake was a small patch of trees that merged into rolling plains, and in the middle of the lack stood a small island.

"Woah!" Gnarlpaw gasped, staring at the mesmerizing sight, "It's beautiful!"

"It's okay," Frothbelly said, then looked at her, "You can go down and look, if you want."

"Great!" Gnarlpaw half-ran, half-skidded down the grassy hill. She bounded right to the water's edge, and with a moments hesitation, dabbed a paw into the great body of water. Then, she jumped into the waves, sending a spray of water into the air. The water went up to her chest, and she relished in the refreshing coolness of it against her pelt.

"I didn't say you could get in the lake," Frothbelly said as they trotted to her. They stopped at the waters edge, wrinkling their nose as it lapped at their paws.

"But it's so fun!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, paddling around in a small circle.

"Where did you learn to swim?" Frothbelly have her an odd look. Confused, Gnarlpaw paused.

"You can't swim?" She asked.

"No cat in SkyClan swims," Frothbelly replied, "All of our prey is on land."

"Oh." Gnarlpaw continued paddling for a few more heartbeats. She didn't realize that swimming was so odd for a SkyClan cat. She had picked it up right away. Then again, she wasn't a real SkyClan cat, was she?

With that somber realization, she climbed out of the lake, shivering as the breeze chilled her fur. She followed Frothbelly back into the foliage, embarrassment burning the tip of her ears. She was SkyClan, not RiverClan! She wasn't supposed to enjoy the water.

These thoughts consumed her as Frothbelly continued the tour around the territory. The sun had just begun to sink in the sky when Frothbelly stopped her with a flick of their tail. They pointed into a particularly thick patch of pine trees, and Gnarlpaw smelled a thick, bitter scent of cat.

"Is this our border with ShadowClan?" Gnarlpaw asked. She's heard stories of the neighboring Clan, the Clan that lived in the darkness of the pine forest and ate frogs instead of squirrels.

"Yes," Frothbelly said, "They don't tend to bother us often. I hear they're more interested in WindClan's borders."

"That's good," Gnarlpaw said. A small part of her still distrusted the strange cats, but she shoved this aside.

"If we keep going, we'll reach the RiverClan strip of the border." Frothbelly gestured to the right of them, where Gnarlpaw could hear the steady trickle of water.

"RiverClan border? They share a border with us ?" Gnarlpaw tilted her head questioningly. She hadn't known the hostile Clan was so close.

"They own a small stretch of territory by ShadowClan territory," Frothbelly said as they began to lead Gnarlpaw towards the running water. "They're across the riverbend."

The sound of running water grew closer. Gnarlpaw could scent it, similar to the lake but more earthy. She also smelled what she figured was RiverClan, likening their scent to the time she had found a long dead frog at the bottom of the freshkill pile. It was very strong- stronger than the other Clans' scents had been. She looked to see that Frothbelly had noticed this too, and motioned for her to crouch.

The two SkyClan warriors crept to the edge of the foliage, and Gnarlpaw saw two things immediately. The river- a sloshing stream of water cutting through the peaceful forest, taking a sharp turn that tapered far into the distance- and cats. There were four cats on the opposite bank, staring into the forest where the two SkyClan cats hid.

"Gnarlpaw," Frothbelly hissed, "Go back to camp and get Bubblefleck and whoever else you can find."

Before Gnarlpaw could obey her mentor's order, the largest cat there turned to look. Gnarlpaw's heart sank as he called out.

"I know you're there, and if you don't come out now, we're coming to you."


	5. Chapter Three

"You're as stubborn as a badger, I swear!"

Poppypaw tutted as she pressed wet moss into the scarred fur on Thornbite's hind paw. The brown warrior had taken a fall while hunting and was now stretched out in the moss bed before her, looking unabashed by the apprentice's reprimand.

"I told you to take it easy," Poppypaw looked into the elderly tom's eyes, scowling, "You could have done permanent damage!"

"I didn't, did I?" Thornbite asked. Poppypaw huffed at his patiently challenging tone. He really hadn't done much damage: his leg was just weak from an earlier wound, and it had only buckled on him. Still, Poppypaw had told the tom he should relax!

"No, but that doesn't mean you should climb the Sky Pine like a daft apprentice!" Poppypaw said, tail flicking. "I've got my paws full as it is!"

"Calm down there, flower," Thornbite said with a purr, flicking his thin tail to brush the medicine apprentice's paws. "Your whiskers are going gray faster than mine are."

Thornbite stretched his crooked jaws in a yawn, and grimaced. Poppypaw felt a pang of sympathy. She wasn't sure how Thornbite had come upon his injury, but she knew it ailed him. His bottom jaw was twisted to the side, exposing weathered canine teeth in an overbite that left his tongue sticking out the side. She could hear the minute click of bone as the elderly tom repositioned his jaw, and adopted a less angry look.

"I can get you some dock for that, if you want," Poppypaw offered. Thornbite nodded, looking grateful, and she trotted to the herbs stores in the back of the den. The variety of leaves and berries were hidden away between gaps in the rotted log that made up a wall of the den, messy yet familiar. She hooked a claw through a couple of the broad leaves and padded back to her patient.

"You know," Thornbite said as Poppypaw finished pressing the fresh poultice onto his jaw, "It's odd to see you so tense today."

"Why?" Poppypaw asked.

"I thought you'd be happy for Gnarlpaw. She's been badgering you about her ceremony for moons, hasn't she?" Thornbite said. Poppypaw averted her gaze, feeling somewhat guilty.

She was happy for her friend, but the appointment of Frothbelly as her mentor had soured the experience for her. Perhaps she shouldn't have let this show to Gnarlpaw; the she-cat had always been sensitive. Remembering the confused, anxious look on her friend's face after the ceremony made her grimace, and she straightened up.

"Of course I'm happy for her," she said stiffly, "She's my best friend, why wouldn't I be happy?"

"I know you don't like Frothbelly, but they're a good warrior at heart," Thornbite spoke slowly. Poppypaw snorted, but abruptly realized who she was talking to, and maintained a more respectful tone.

"I guess, but-"

"Help!"

The panicked cry from outside the den halted the conversation. Recognizing Gnarlpaw's voice, Poppypaw darted out of the den without hesitation. Her friend was stood in the middle of the clearing, trembling from every limb, eyes wide and ears low. Her head snapped back and forth until her gaze landed on Bubblefleck, who was drowsily padding out of the warrior's den.

"What's wrong?" Bubblefleck asked. Gnarlpaw ran up to him, past Poppypaw, who looked on in confusion.

"Frothbelly and I were exploring the territory and then when we went to the riverbend we saw RiverClan warriors and they crossed the border and-" Gnarlpaw's words were almost too fast to understand. Poppypaw's stomach dropped to her paws, and Bubblefleck jumped as though shocked.

"Where's Frothbelly?" Bubblefleck demanded. The leader was trembling more than Gnarlpaw now, and his half-tail thrashed anxiously.

"They're still at the border," Gnarlpaw replied, "One of the RiverClan cats said they wouldn't attack them, but Frothbelly still told me to come get you."

"I'm going to go see what they want, everyone else stay at camp in case it's an attack," Bubblefleck said, his yellow-and-blue gaze sweeping over the cats gathered. When his eyes landed on Poppypaw, he cleared his throat and spoke again.

"Actually, Poppypaw, you come too," he said.

"Wha-why?" Poppypaw asked.

"They won't attack if a medicine cat is present," was the black-and-white warrior's reply. He darted through the bramble entrance of camp, and the two apprentices followed suit wordlessly. Poppypaw's heart thrummed against her chest like a moth trapped between her paws, and her paws were almost to heavy to move. What if there was an invasion? Poppypaw knew that her Clan was defenseless against attack; they only had five trained warriors, after all.

In what seemed like heartbeats, Poppypaw heard the running of water through the trees ahead. She sped up to catch up with her longer-legged companions, suddenly aware of her lack of offensive training.

To her relief, as she followed Bubblefleck through the brush, the scene before her was not one of violence. Frothbelly was standing stiff-legged in front of four RiverClan cats. Poppypaw recognized the brown-and-orange tom as Otterhop, the deputy of RiverClan, but the others were unfamiliar. The larger of the three was the same brown as his companion, and Poppypaw figured he must be Otterhop's sibling. The other two were young and soft furred: new apprentices. One was almost completely white, save for a couple of faint stripes on her spine, while the other was grey-and-white, with black stripes creating a mask-like pattern around their eyes. The apprentices seemed as unsure as the SkyClan cats, huddled closely together and eyeing the foreign cats suspiciously.

"You're one our side of the border, Otterhop," Bubblefleck growled, breathless from the run. Otterhop rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"No need to be so unfriendly, Bubblefleck," he said, "Beavertail and I are just here to show our new apprentices around their future territory."

Poppypaw felt Gnarlpaw stiffen beside her, and her hackles rose. Otterhop purred again, seemingly amused at the hostility his words were meant with.

"I'm only the messenger, SkyClanners," Otterhop said, his fur flat and his tone light, "Heronstar is ready to expand our borders, and every cat knows you can't defend yours."

"If all you came here to do is threaten us, then go back to your own territory," Frothbelly spoke for the first time. Their tone was as uninterested as if they were talking to their own clanmates, and their gaze was cold and emotionless. "We're not interested in RiverClan games."

"They're right," Bubblefleck stepped forward, "Get off our territory before we make you."

"Are you a kittypet?"

The white apprentice spoke up. Every cat turned to look at her, and the other apprentice shoved her roughly.

"Swanpaw!"

"I'm just wondering!" Swanpaw said, unabashed, "Look, he has a collar, Raccoonpaw! He must be a kittypet,"

Bubblefleck's glare turned venomous, and he snarled wordlessly at the apprentice. Only the grey one flinched.

"Don't be rude, Swanpaw," Otterhop didn't seem at all concerned with Bubblefleck's injured pride, "Bubblefleck just used to be a kittypet, but now hes a _real_ Clan cat." Otterhop's tone was thick with sarcasm, and Bubblefleck flinched, his gaze flicking briefly to the purple collar around his neck.

"Would you leave already?" Frothbelly asked, "I've met finches with more of a bite than you." Poppypaw noticed that, despite their almost-joking words, they were more hostile now, standing in front of their brother as if to shield him from the curious eyes of the apprentices.

"This is serious," the other RiverClan warrior spoke for the first time. His voice was deep and serious, and his yellow eyes held none of the joking glint of his brother's. "Heronstar intends on getting this stretch of territory, whether or not you cooperate."

"We really don't want to have to fight you," Otterhop said, "It seems, well, unfair of us to fight a Clan less than half our size."

"We can defend ourselves fine," Bubblefleck spat, "So go and tell Heronstar that she'll have to find territory elsewhere."

"Suit yourselves," Otterhop shrugged, getting to his paws. "We'll get going back to our own territory now, but we'll be back." The deputy turned to his brother, who nodded and nudged the apprentices towards the slow-moving river. Otterhop stood at the edge of the water, and turned to look at the SkyClan cats one last time.

"Don't expect Heronstar to take kindly to this."

With that, the well-muscled tom clambered into the water, the white apprentice following suit. The grey apprentice, who Poppypaw figured must be Raccoonpaw, seemed frozen at the water's edge, their tailing flicking in an anxious way. They only followed the others when Beavertail shoved them into the water, sending them clumsily paddling towards the other shore.

When the RiverClan cats disappeared into the setting sun's rays, Bubblefleck sat down with a sigh. Poppypaw let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, flattening the fur along her side and turning to look at Gnarlpaw. Poppypaw could tell the younger apprentice was anxious: her ears flicked about, and her whiskers trembled like they always had when she was worried about something. Poppypaw brushed against her side, hoping to comfort her.

"Those...those foxhearts!" Gnarlpaw broke the silence, indignant and shaky, "Who do they think they are!"

"Sorry you had to see that," Bubblefleck said, facing the two apprentices, "Don't worry about it; Frothbelly and I can figure out something."

Frothbelly remained silent at their brother's words, staring across the water in a way that made Poppypaw's claws curl in their sheaths. They offered no words of reassurance or wisdom to their brother or the apprentices, only flicking their tail slowly back and forth until they seemed to decide that silence was bothering them.

"We should go back to camp," They said simply, and without waiting for a response, padded towards the forest.

When they returned to camp, the patrol was bombarded with questioning voices and concerned growls. Feeling overwhelmed by the day's events, Poppypaw stalked away from the small crowd, looking for Gnarlpaw. The apprentice had disappeared as soon as she entered camp, and Poppypaw was worried that the encounter at the border had scared her into hiding for the night. When Poppypaw spotted Gnarlpaw, she didn't seem scared at all: in fact, she seemed more bouncy than ever. She scampered around Swirlheart, who lounged in front of the warrior's den, her voice loud and excited.

"I can't believe I saw real RiverClan cats!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, bouncing on her paws in front of a much more relaxed Swirlheart, "And on my first day as an apprentice! It was so exciting too! I saw the Sky Pine and a badger set and the lake and-" Gnarlpaw's hyper onslaught of the day's events was interrupted when Swirlheart purred, placing a paw on her daughter's muzzle.

"That all sounds really great, kitten, but I really should go see what Bubblefleck and Frothbelly have to say," she said. Gnarlpaw seemed to deflate a little, but maintained her cheery tone as she said goodbye to her mother. Alone now, the apprentice floppped down where her mother had been, chin on her paws. Her green gaze flicked towards Poppypaw, and Poppypaw realized she'd been staring.

"Some day, huh?" she sighed as she trotted over to Gnarlpaw. Gnarlpaw didn't respond, instead turning her head with a huff. Perplexed, Poppypaw attempted conversation again. "Those RiverClan cats were awful, right?"

"I dunno," Gnarlpaw muttered into her paws, "I'm not a _clanborn_ cat so I wouldn't know that, would I?"

"Huh-oh!" Poppypaw remembered what she had said to Gnarlpaw before, and felt a wave of regret. She hadn't thought her words would get to the bouncy apprentice so badly. She fished for a lame excuse or response, before letting out a heavy sigh and placing a soft paw on Gnarlpaw's shoulder.

"I...shouldn't have said that," Poppypaw said, "I didn't mean to make you feel bad about that. Sorry for upsetting you."

Gnarlpaw didn't respond for a few moments. Then, she turned her head to face her friend.

"I forgive you."

The two apprentices sat in silence for another few moments. Poppypaw didn't say anything else, heart fluttering with a new kind of anxiety. What if Gnarlpaw was still mad at her?

"Ugh!" Gnarlpaw let out a loud groan, and Poppypaw jumped, "This silence is too awkward! Let's get some fresh-kill or something!"

"Hah, okay!" Poppypaw said, getting to her paws and grinning up at her friend, who returned it with a purr. "How about you tell me about your first time around territory while we eat?"

The two apprentices started towards the fresh kill pile, tails entwined as their purring voices filled the otherwise tense camp with much-needed warmth.


	6. Chapter Four

There were only fish on the fresh kill pile.

Raccoonpaw groaned in disappointment, pawing at the shimmering, cold bodies in a vain attempt to find any furred prey. They shouldn't have been surprised; they were the only cat in RiverClan who cared for land prey, after all. Still, their reluctance stayed, and it was only after an impatient roar from their belly that Raccoonpaw chose a limp carp from the top of the pile and crossed the camp.

The moment the apprentice settled in front of the apprentices' den, a white blur of a cat plopped onto the ground beside them, blue eyes gleaming. It was Raccoonpaw's sister, Swanpaw: a bouncy white she-cat who was brave, social, and leader-like: all the things her sibling wasn't.

"You took so long!" Swanpaw said, "I almost started eating without you."

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know," Raccoonpaw said. Swanpaw had always waited to eat with her sibling, even as a kit, and Raccoonpaw grudgingly appreciated it. Even if she was an annoying furball.

"There was only fish on the pile," Raccoonpaw sighed, motioned towards the source of their ire. Swanpaw rolled her eyes, merely purring before tearing into her meal.

Raccoonpaw took a much more reluctant bite. The taste wasn't awful, but the light, wet texture of fish had never settled right with them. They were probably the only cat in RiverClan to not like fish, at least, that's what it seemed like. They always seemed to be the outsider.

"Swanpaw, Raccoonpaw!"

The siblings looked up from their meals. Beavertail was padding toward them, heavy paws denting the damp ground. He looked stern as always, yellow eyes narrowed and tail twitching.

"Beavertail!" Swanpaw replied through a mouthful of catfish.

"Finish up your prey, it's time to start training," Beavertail said. He looked pointedly at Raccoonpaw, who swallowed nervously and pushed their prey away.

"What, you trying to starve us?"

At his apprentice's comment, Beavertail huffed, not a hint of a purr on his face. This was not a surprise; the brown tabby was never particularly fond of Raccoonpaw, and even less fond of what he called "attitude". He took a long, stern look at the apprentice, who shuffled their paws and tried to look unbothered. Then, he flicked his ears and growled.

"We're leaving now, so hurry up and finish," Beavertail said.

When the older cat walked away, the siblings hurried to finish their meals, and heartbeats later bounded across camp to the reed barriers that marked the exit.

The morning air was cool and fresh, and the grass underneath their paws was refreshing. A small stream split the territory in front of them, narrow enough for a cat to jump over without getting their paws wet. Raccoonpaw felt a flutter of nerves in their belly when they saw Beavertail standing with another tom a few foxlengths away from the willow copse that made up the training grounds. It was Otterhop: the Clan deputy, and their sister's mentor.

"Hey, shrimp," Otterhop purred as Swanpaw greeted him. He nudged her with her bulky shoulder, almost knocking her to the ground, and she responded with a playful swat. Then, the pair began to play fight, a whirling pile of sheathed claws and tails, kicking up mud and dust around them. The two matched eachother in energy and maturity, and Raccoonpaw thought that Otterhop acted even younger than his apprentice.

As they watched their sister scuffle with her mentor, Raccoonpaw fought back a wave of bitter jealousy. They turned to their mentor. The tom didn't seem to like Raccoonpaw nearly as much as Otterhop did Swanpaw, if at all. They couldn't remember if they'd ever had a friendly conversation with them before; their relationship had always been strictly business. He would tell them what to do, and they would do it, and the two would part ways without a word.

"If you two are done acting like kits," Beavertail said, looking disdainfully at the two, "We have work to do."

"Ah, but what fun is that?" Otterhop straightened up. "You need to lighten up, brother." He shook the dew and dust out of his fur, while Swanpaw scrambled to her paws, white fur messy and bushy. Raccoonpaw reaches a paw over and swatted a strand of grass out of his sister's, and she stuck her tongue out at them in response.

"Fun doesn't catch fish," Beavertail said simply, "Now, do you want to brief the apprentices on their assignment today, or should I?"

"I suppose I will," Otterhop replied. "You've been training for a moon now, so we're going to give you your first assessment."

"Is it our warriors assessment?" Swanpaw asked, her eyes round with hope and her paws tapping the ground.

"Don't be dumb," Raccoonpaw snorted, "Not every assessment is our warriors assessment."

"Not with that attitude, it's not," Swanpaw replied, sticking her tongue out once more. Raccoonpaw rolled their eyes.

"This is not your warriors assessment," Beavertail said, "It's a simple hunting assessment. We need to assess how well you two can provide for the Clan,"

Raccoonpaw shuffled nervously, and as if sending their trepidation, Beavertail looked at them.

"And to pass the assessment, you must catch at least two fish," he said, "Even drypaws have to pull their own weight, Raccoonpaw."

Raccoonpaw bit back a retort, anxiety thrumming in their chest. The assignment would be easy for any other RiverClan apprentice, but Raccoonpaw had never caught a fish unassisted before. Water had always filled them with fear, even as a kit. They had never been a good swimmer; even kits could swim more gracefully than they could. They knew that this was stunting their training, but in their opinion, it wasn't as big of a deal as their mentor made it. It wasn't like they weren't hunting for their Clan; they brought back nearly as much prey as their sister did, theirs just had a bit more fur. At least mice didn't all die out in cold weather. They didn't dare voice this however, and settled for swiping angrily at the tufts of grass beneath their front paws.

"Is that all?" Swanpaw asked. Otterhop nodded.

"Yep. Just bring back as much prey as you can, and I'm sure you'll be fine," Otterhop said. He then blinked as if remembering something, and turned to look at Raccoonpaw. "And you two must split up to catch prey- no helping eachother."

"Aw, okay," Swanpaw said, sounding much less disappointed than Raccoonpaw in that moment, "Where should we hunt?"

"Anywhere, really," Otterhop said, flicking his tail to the territory beyond, "As long as you bring back prey."

"And we won't be watching you," Beavertail added, "We have business to attend to with Heronstar."

"So go on and get going," Otterhop said, shoving the apprentices forward.

And with that, Raccoonpaw and Swanpaw bounded away, jumping the small stream and pushing through the reeds.

"I'm totally gonna win!" Swanpaw said, a challenging lilt to her tone.

Raccoonpaw rolled their eyes, but didn't respond. They followed the white she-cat through the reeds, and when they decided they were far enough away, sped up and stopped in front of Swanpaw, who tripped over her paws to stop.

"Swanpaw, I have an idea," Raccoonpaw said. Swanpaw gave them a questioning look, and they continued, "Since Beavertail and Otterhop won't be watching us, we should work together."

"But Otterhop said we need to work alone," Swanpaw replied, tilting her eyes and furrowing her brow, "Remember?"

"Yes, I remember, but he can't stop us if he's not here," Raccoonpaw huffed, tail flicking anxiously.

"I don't wanna break the rules," Swanpaw said, looking at the ground, "Sorry, 'Coon"

Raccoonpaw stared at her, dismayed. She knew they couldn't hunt fish on their own, they couldn't see why she wouldn't help. Still, seeing their normally bold sister looking so uncomfortable stirred guilt in their belly, and they sighed.

"Okay, I guess I'll be fine, then," they said. Swanpaw's gaze lit up again, and she purred, rubbing her cheek against Raccoonpaw's jaw.

"You'll do great!" She exclaimed, "I'll see you later on at camp!" With a final purr, Swanpaw turned and bounded away from them, in the direction of WindClan's border. Raccoonpaw watched her go, their calm facade dropping. What were they going to do? The thought of standing at the lake's edge or the river between them and WindClan made their paws feel heavy as stone, but so did the prospect of getting chewed out by their mentor for failing their assessment. Where else could they fish?

 _The SkyClan border._

The thought struck them like lightning. They jerked in the direction of the small stretch of territory, remembering the confrontation from the previous day. The SkyClan leaders had been scary, scarier than how Heronstar had always described them. The black-and-white cat, although smaller than his sibling, had given Raccoonpaw the chills, with his odd-colored eyes and scarred appearance. The rest of SkyClan(at least, the cats they had seen) didn't seem to scary, though. The Clan was tiny, with much more territory than they could patrol in one day. They'd probably be fine; they'd be on their side of the border after all.

Swallowing the lump of anxiety that had formed in their throat, Raccoonpaw made up their mind. The river separating the two Clans was much slower at the bend than any other place in RiverClan territory; it was their best chance.

Determined and nervous, the RiverClan apprentice began to trek to the far border. Along the way, Raccoonpaw had a spot of luck in catching a plump and oblivious vole that crossed their path. Their belly rumbled at the fresh kill, but the memory of when Beavertail had caught them eating on a hunting assignment before sent fear to overpower their hunger. They continued on after burying the vole, reaching the border when the sun was high in the sky.

The pine forest around them offered them shelter from the sun's heat, and they sighed, flexing their paws on the pine needled blanketing the ground around them. The forest floor was springy and soft, pleasantly dry compared to the mud of RiverClan territory. However, the shadows were somewhat unnerving on the border foxlengths away, and Raccoonpaw decided to hurry to the Riverbend before ShadowClan could spot them near their border.

At last, the sound of water broke through the forest's rustling, and the scent of SkyClan drifted through the breeze. Raccoonpaw saw the water's shimmer through the undergrowth ahead, and slowed to a trot. The sight that greeted them when they broke through the bush-line was serene and undisturbed. The river lazily flowed between the territories, shallow and unthreatening. Still, Raccoonpaw felt a stab of uncertainty looking at it.

 _Come one, Raccoonpaw,_ they thought _, you're a RiverClan cat!_

They crept to the shallowest edge of the river they could find, and after making sure their paws had a steady purchase on the wet soil, peered into the water. It was clear, reflecting their grey and black-striped face, and past that, the pebbles at the bottom of the body of water. A few small streaks of silver darted in and out of the shallows, faster than Raccoonpaw could react. They knew they were taught how to fish: keep shadows out of the water, stay still, strike ahead of the fish. However, all of the involved putting their paws in the water. There had to be a better way, all they had to do was think about it.

Hwever hard they thought, and whatever creative ideas they came up with, Raccoonpaw failed at both catching fish and keeping their paws dry. After smacking their paws down on the place where their third missed catch had been, Raccoonpaw swore, swiping at the pebbles under their pads.

"Hi there!"

Raccoonpaw's paws slid out from under them in their haste to get away, and they fell into the water. They gasped at the shock of the cool water, immediately scrambling back onto the bank, their pelt soaking.

On the opposite bank was a familiar cat- one of the apprentices from SkyClan. She was odd looking, with a nearly-hairless pelt and large eyes and ears. The fur she did have was brown and stretched from her face to her tail, tightly curled and short. She was staring at them, her sides shaking with the force of her purrs.

"Sorry to scare you!" She called, "I just wanted to say hi!"

"Er," Raccoonpaw stammered, shaking the water from their pelt, "Hi?"

"I'm Gnarlpaw! Who are you?" the apprentice-Gnarlpaw- said, and before they could respond, continued, "Wait, didn't I see you over here yesterday with the other RiverClan cats? Are you here to invade or something?"

"No, no!" Raccoonpaw shook their head furiously, "I'm just fishing!"

"Oh, that's good," Gnarlpaw said, all sense of hostility gone from her green gaze. "Have you caught anything?"

"No," Raccoonpaw replied, shaking their head again, "I don't like swimming."

"I thought you were RiverClan," Gnarlpaw said, looking confused.

"I am! I just-don't swim." Raccoonpaw stammered, embarrassment burning their ear tips. Why were they telling a SkyClan stranger this?

"I love swimming!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, splashing her gangly paws in the water, "I actually caught a fish yesterday, maybe I could help you?"

"Oh, you shouldn't-" Raccoonpaw was cut off when Gnarlpaw slid into the water. The she-cat swam as effortlessly as a RiverClan cat, swift and powerful against the current. Raccoonpaw was so jealous they almost forgot they were supposed to defend their territory.

"You better go back to SkyClan territory," they warned.

"Nah, it's fine, I want to help!" Gnarlpaw said, now only a foxlength away.

"You-" Raccoonpaw said, but found themself speechless and nose-to-nose with the SkyClan apprentice. They crouched, uncertain of what to do. Then, they lashed out a paw.

"Ah!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed as an soft white paw gently tapped her nose, "Why'd you do that?"

"I was, uh-" Raccoonpaw's pelt burned, and they looked away with a cough, "You're not supposed to be here."

"Aw, don't worry!" Gnarlpaw slid out of the water, shaking her sparse fur clear of water. Now standing next to the she-cat, Raccoonpaw was struck by just how tall she was. She was a good head taller than them, and was as tall as Heronstar, who was the tallest cat Raccoonpaw knew. Despite her size, she didn't seem threatening. In fact, she was just about the least threatening cat Raccoonpaw had ever seen, with big, curious eyes and gangly legs.

"Let's fish over here," Gnarlpaw said, and trotted to the edge of the river a few foxlengths away. Raccoonpaw followed, looking over their shoulder at the forest behind them. There wasn't any harm in letting Gnarlpaw be here as long no one saw, right?

"So you just crouch by the water like this," Gnarlpaw said, crouching with her front paws in the cold-running streaming, "And then..."

Gnarlpaw stared into the water, and Raccoonpaw followed suit. Minnows darted between their paws, until out of the corner of their eye, the RiverClan apprentice spotted a larger, brown flash. As quick as lightning, Gnarlpaw hooked a paw into the water, and flung a carp onto the wet soil. Raccoonpaw pinned it down and looked disbelievingly at the SkyClan apprentice.

"See? Easy!" Gnarlpaw said, tailing curling and uncurling in a pleased way.

"How did you do that?" Raccoonpaw asked as Gnarlpaw picked up the now limp fish in her jaws.

"I just didn't think about it I guess," Gnarlpaw replied, looking unbothered, "I saw the fish and just did it."

"Let me try," Raccoonpaw said. They took Gnarlpaw's place at the edge of the water, and mimicked her stance. Their gaze darted from fish to fish, and they tried to remember how she had caught it. She had hooked her paw in a weird way, hadn't she? They spotted a larger silver fish, and pounced a second too late, splashing water into the air.

"Fish-dung!" They groaned, sitting down. "I can't do this."

"I'm sure you can do it," Gnarlpaw said. Raccoonpaw shook their head, frustrated.

"I've never been able to fish. Even when I go over the steps in my head and think about it I can't do it," they said, flexing sharp claws in the soil.

"Then don't think about it so hard," Gnarlpaw replied, blinking sympathetically at them, "Just do it, it's not that bad."

"Fine," Raccoonpaw looked into the water again, glaring at the glint of scales as they passed by. Painfully aware of Gnarlpaw staring at them, Raccoonpaw snorted.

"You really shouldn't be on this side of the border, you know," they said, "If Heronstar caught you over here you'd get shredded."

Whatever Gnarlpaw's response was, Raccoonpaw didn't hear. When they caught sight of an orange glimmer in the water, they hooked a paw down instinctively. To their shock, they felt the cold wriggle of scales on their pads, and before it could get away, hooked it onto the ground and dug their teeth into it's spine.

"You did it!" Gnarlpaw cheered. Racoonpaw straightened up from their kill, and stared wide-eyed at it. They had actually caught a fish, and without someone else doing part of it!

"I did it," They said, "I didn't think that would work."

"It did work though," Gnarlpaw replied, purring, "It's not so bad, is it?"

"I guess not," Raccoonpaw said. They felt like it had to have been a fluke that they caught it; they hadn't even been paying attention to what they were doing. At least they wouldn't come back to camp empty-pawed.

"I should probably get going," Raccoonpaw said, glancing at the sun sinking in the horizon. "My mentor will claw my ears if I don't get back before dark."

"Hah, mine probably won't care much," Gnarlpaw said, "They don't care much about anything, really."

"Lucky," Raccoonpaw snorted, "If Beavertail was any more uptight he'd be angrier than Heronstar!"

Gnarlpaw purred in response, and Raccoonpaw found themself purring with her. She was really friendly. She was nicer than the apprentices in RiverClan, at least. As the two apprentices bid each other farewell, Raccoonpaw lingered, watching the tall she-cat disappear beyond the SkyClan border, pawsteps fading into the rustle of leaves. They stared after her, then realized what they were doing and gathered the the fish Gnarlpaw had caught, and the fish they had caught. Hopefully, they would see her at the upcoming Gathering. The thought filled them with an inexplicable, unfamiliar excitement as they headed back the way they came.

It was only when they settled down into their bed that night that they realize they had left the vole behind.


	7. Chapter Five

"You missed it," said Frothbelly.

Sprawled on the ground and looking at the spot between her paws where the mouse had been, Gnarlpaw groaned. The sun was setting, and she still hadn't managed to catch anything. She got to her paws and shook the dust from her pelt, and turned to look at her mentor. The white warrior was lying at the edge of the clearing, rubbing a clean paw over their whiskers. The sight wasn't surprising; in the days the two had trained, not once had Frothbelly demonstrated personally what to do. 'Learning through experience' was what they called it. Gnarlpaw thought a more appropriate name was 'laze around while your apprentice breaks her tail learning to hunt'.

"What did I do wrong this time?" Gnarlpaw asked.

"That's something you need to figure out, kit," Frothbelly said.

Gnarlpaw bit back a retort, lashing her tail in frustration. How was she supposed to figure it out when she hadn't ever learned? With a tense sigh, she lifted her nose to the breeze once more. The weather was cool and dry, which meant prey was running especially well. The warm scent of mouse filled her nose, and without looking at her mentor, Gnarlpaw began to track it.

The scent led her out of the pine trees and into a small oak copse, where a small clearing sat. There was the smell of twolegs, a few days old and fading. The tamped down earth only had one thing Gnarlpaw was interested in: a plump mouse sniffing the deep furrows in the dirt left behind by the twoleg dens.

Eyes wide and set on her prey, Gnarlpaw crept forward. She payed close attention to the weight of her paws on the leaf litter, the stillness of her breath, the hover of her tail over the ground. Slowly, she inched closer to the mouse. It didn't notice her until she leapt out of the bracken, trapped it between her paws, and snapped its neck with once swift jerk of her head.

She'd caught it! Elated by her success, Gnarlpaw stared at her catch, and then turned to look for her mentor. They hadn't followed her.

"Frothbelly!" Gnarlpaw shouted, tail twitching and paws buzzing, "Frothbelly, come here!"

Frothbelly appeared, trotting at a brisker pace than Gnarlpaw expected. When their eyes landed on her, their fur layed flat, and they sighed.

"Is there a reason you scared all the prey between here and the ThunderClan border?" they asked.

"Look, I caught something!" Gnarlpaw patted the mouse, grinning.

Frothbelly looked at her for a moment, and then the mouse, and then the clearing behind her. Then, they shook their ears as if clearing them.

"You shouldn't hunt here," they said plainly. Gnarlpaw deflated, somewhat hurt. Were they not proud of her?

"We should go back to camp now," Frothbelly said, either unaware or uninterested in their apprentice's disappointment, "The sun is setting."

Without looking to see if she would follow, Frothbelly padded away. Gnarlpaw looked at her catch. It suddenly seemed a lot more underwhelming than she thought it was. She grasped it between her teeth, her disappointment turning to determination. Even if Frothbelly wasn't proud of her, her mother and Poppypaw would be!

Gnarlpaw was half right.

When she got back to camp, Poppypaw had indeed been proud of her, but her mother was nowhere to be found. She had gone on patrol with Redheart, Bubblefleck informed her. Any dismay she felt at this fact was overshadowed by her joy when Poppypaw picked her prey to eat, and now the two apprentices lay near the medicine den, enjoying their meal.

"And they didn't seem proud of me at all!" Gnarlpaw said, "they just kind of dismissed me."

"Eh," Poppypaw said once she swallowed her prey, "Did you expect any different?"

"Well, yeah," Gnarlpaw said, "I did, actually." Poppypaw had made it no secret to her that she disliked Frothbelly, but Gnarlpaw couldn't help but wish her friend was just a little more sympathetic. Frothbelly could be a good mentor on occasion; they were lax on the rules, and let her be independent. They expected a lot of her, which she appreciated as much as she loathed. Whenever Poppypaw talked about her days with Tricklestream, how the two would collect herbs and hunt together as friends, Gnarlpaw still felt an ache in her chest. She wished her own mentor was that friendly, or at least showed some sign of caring about her.

"I just wish they cared about me," Gnarlpaw grumbled, tucking her paws under her chest. "It seems like they aren't even interested in me."

Poppypaw was quiet for a long while. She seemed to be thinking over something, her tail lazily brushing the grass as she chewed. Then, she spoke.

"Honestly, they probably don't care about you," Poppypaw said.

Gnarlpaw felt as if a claw had raked her muzzle.

"Why would you say that?" Gnarlpaw asked, ears drooping and eyes wide.

"Oh, don't take it personally, Gnarl," Poppypaw purred, licking her friend's ears sympathetically, "They don't care about anyone."

"How do you know that?" Gnarlpaw jerked her head away from Poppypaw as she spoke, whiskers trembling.

"Has no one ever told you that they used to be a kittypet?" Poppypaw asked. Gnarlpaw shook her head somewhat defensively, wondering if her friend was about to insult outsiders again.

"Well, they did. That wasn't really the issue though, I mean, Bubblefleck used to be a kittypet too and he's our leader," Poppypaw said, "The issue was that they always wanted to be a kittypet again. When they were an apprentice, they were caught eating kittypet food, and they actually became a kittypet again."

"Wait, really?" Gnarlpaw asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah. I heard the only reason they came back to the Clan is because their twolegs kicked them out!" Poppypaw exclaimed, muzzle wrinkling the way it always had when Poppypaw was angry, "They don't really care about SkyClan, they just don't have anywhere left to go."

Gnarlpaw didn't respond, instead staring at her paws. She knew Poppypaw was telling the truth- her friend had never told her a lie- but she couldn't understand why Frothbelly would still be here. The white warrior wasn't the most open cat, but they were always the one to send out patrols and help their brother deliberate on important matters. Why would they do that if they didn't like being in SkyClan?

"I hope I didn't upset you," Poppypaw said, running her tail down Gnarlpaw's spine.

"No, you didn't," Gnarlpaw replied, brow furrowed. She thought back to Frothbelly's reaction to her being near the twoleg camp, and turned to look at Poppypaw.

"Do you think Frothbelly still takes food from twolegs?"

"I don't know," Poppypaw shrugged, "Wouldn't surprise me."

The conversation soon shifted to lighter matters, and though Gnarlpaw laughed along with Poppypaw and was in a good enough mood when she crawled into her nest at moonhigh, her thoughts still lingered on the subject. What if Poppypaw was right about Frothbelly? The warrior always seemed to be gone at inoppurtune times, and had always been much larger than most of the other cats in the Clan. Was that why they told her to stay away from that twoleg clearing?

Gnarlpaw rolled over in her nest, her tail brushing Poppypaw. Usually she would cuddle up to the she-cat, using her fluffy belly to make up for her own lack of fur. Tonight, however, she realized that she couldn't. She had a plan.

She was going to that clearing at dawn, before any other cat woke up.

Gnarlpaw only got a wink of sleep before the first lights of dawn stirred her. Immediately, Gnarlpaw jerked up, and to her relief, none of the other cats in the Clan seemed to be awake. All she heard was the soft breathing of Poppypaw beside her, and the song of a robin in the trees above. The morning was perfect.

Careful not to wake Poppypaw, Gnarlpaw crept out of her nest and poked her head out of the den. She could see the outline of cats asleep in the warrior den, fur rustling in the light breeze. The sky was a lilac shot with the indigo left behind by the night sky, a few of the stars of Silverpelt still twinkling at the edges. Gnarlpaw wanted to sit in the clearing and appreciate the calm forever, but she settled for a mere few heartbeats before making her way out of camp. The other warriors would be awake any minute, and she had to stay out of sight if she was going to sneak away.

No voice called out, and no cat emerged as Gnarlpaw darted through the thorn barrier and into the forest. The apprentice felt a thrill of excitement. She was actually doing this! She was breaking the rules, and no one had caught her! She knew she shouldn't have been, but she was triumphant as she stood in the dappled light of the sun through the canopy overhead.

Gnarlpaw only knew one way to the clearing: away from the lake, past the Riverbend, and towards the ThunderClan border. She knew there was a way that would take her to where she needed to be sooner, but she wasn't familiar with the territory yet, and didn't like the idea of winding up lost in the dense pines surrounding her. So, chipper and bouncy, Gnarlpaw began on her way.

The melodic birdsong and tell-tale rustling of leaves around her told Gnarlpaw that prey was nearby, but she could hunt later. As she walked, the sounds of life began to mingle with a familiar sound of running water: the Riverbend was nearby. She sped up.

No other cats were in sight, on her side or on RiverClan's side. The water glistened in the rising sun, and frogs jumped into the water, sending ripples outwards. Gnarlpaw found herself somewhat disappointed not to see the RiverClan apprentice she had met a quarter moon earlier. Raccoonpaw had been good-natured and interesting, and she had hoped she would at least catch a glimpse of them on her way. Somewhat disappointed, Gnarlpaw shook her head and kept on her journey. She would be able to see them at the gathering in the coming days.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, aside from a murder of crows Gnarlpaw had frightened while walking past the Dead Oak. Now, as she approached the place she knew the clearing was, Gnarlpaw caught scent of something different, yet familiar: twolegs.

The sound was fresh, fresher than she'd ever smelled. Intrigued, Gnarlpaw crept towards it. Judging by the relative silence around her, the apprentice guessed they were either asleep or gone. It would be the perfect time for a cat to sneak in and take kittypet food.

Gnarlpaw stalked into the bracken surrounding the clearing, and saw what she realized was a twoleg den. It was tall and triangular, with metal sticks jammed into the ground around its corners. A larger container of some sort with several shiny cylinder-like shapes surrounding it was also present, but the clearing was empty otherwise. No other creature was there, not even Frothbelly.

"Well, duh," Gnarlpaw breathed, rolling her eyes, "No one's awake yet." She settled down into a comfortable crouch, intent on waiting for her mentor to show up. Part of her hoped the warrior would show up and make her trip worth something. The larger part of her hoped Poppypaw was wrong. She didn't want her mentor to be some kind of traitor, she just wanted her mentor to be a normal warrior. Unsure of what to hope for, Gnarlpaw took in the scents around her.

The scent of twolegs was overwhelming, mixed with the acrid scent Gnarlpaw came to know as the monsters they rode around in. However, as she got used to the strange scents, a new aroma came to her attention. It smelled more like the forest, but not quite. It smelled both twoleg and wild, and Gnarlpaw couldn't put her paw on it. It vaguely reminded her of the scent of fox, but it wasn't the same.

As if in answer to her confusion, the scent became stronger: much stronger. A loud bark echoed a few foxlengths behind her, and Gnarlpaw immediately knew what it was. Heart in her paws, the apprentice turned around, and came muzzle-to-muzzle with a dark brown, shaggy predator with long teeth and tall legs. It was a dog.

The dog was approaching, fast. Its tongue lolled out hungrily, and its teeth were stained yellow. Dark eyes burned into her as it let out another bark. Gnarlpaw broke out of her fear-filled stupor and darted in the direction of the clearing. Heavy pawsteps followed her.

She could feel the hot breath of the dog on her tail, and with a snarl, Gnarlpaw spun around and lashed out her claws. She felt skin tear under her paws, and the dog yelped and jumped back for a heartbeat. Then, with a fearsome growl, the dog lunged forward again, its teeth missing Gnarlpaw's side by a whisker.

Gnarlpaw turned to make a hasty retreat, but to her horror, found herself stuck between the dog and a thick, impenetrable wall of brambles. She closed her eyes, expecting to feel sharp teeth tear into her at any moment.

Then she felt something run past her, and heard a familiar yowl. She opened her eyes.

Standing stiff-legged between her and the dog was Frothbelly. They let out another yowl, lashing out a sharp paw at the dog's nose. To Gnarlpaw's surprise, the dog yelped, all hint of anger gone. Frothbelly snarled wordlessly at the creature as it backed away, and when they darted for it, the dog ran, clumsy paws stumbling back into the wood.

Frothbelly looked fiercer than Gnarlpaw had ever seen them, blue eyes mere slits as they stared at where the dog had retreated. Unsure of what to do, Gnarlpaw opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when her mentor turned to look at her.

"We should get out of here."

Frothbelly turned without a word and hurried away from the clearing. Gnarlpaw followed, sticking close to her mentor's white pelt, legs trembling and heart beating like a trapped moth. The idea that she might be in trouble only crossed her mind when Frothbelly stopped her at the dirt path between them and ThunderClan.

"Just what were you doing there?" Frothbelly asked. Their voice was smooth and calm, but it was clear from the lashing of their tail that they were angry. Gnarlpaw shrank into a crouch.

"I-I was just-wait, what were you doing there?" Gnarlpaw responded. The question came out a lot less bold than she had intended.

"I was following you, mousebrain," Frothbelly replied with a snort, "You aren't as sneaky as you think you are. Now, what were you doing there?"

"I-I was..." Gnarlpaw fought for an answer. Telling her mentor that she had been looking for evidence of their breaking the warrior code didn't seem like a wise decision in this moment. "I was trying to hunt there."

"Typical," Frothbelly growled, sitting down and rolling their eyes, "Apprentices never do what they're told."

Gnarlpaw looked at her paws, glowering. She felt very foolish, all the sudden. Of course Frothbelly hadn't been taking kittypet food- they were just kind of a jerk. This realization stung more than Gnarlpaw expected.

"Oh, stop moping," Frothbelly sighed, getting to their paws, "You aren't hurt."

A sudden burst of anger filled Gnarlpaw to the whiskers. She got to her paws, and glared into her mentor's impassive blue gaze.

"I'm not moping! I was just scared!" She spat, "Don't you care that that dog almost got me?"

Frothbelly wasn't shaken by her outburst. They sighed again, and looked her in the eyes, as weary as an elder.

"Kit, if I didn't care, I wouldn't be here right now, would I?" Frothbelly said.

Gnarlpaw blinked in surprise. Frothbelly was looking at her like one might look at a naughty kit, but didn't seem angry at her. They had come to her defense, hadn't they? Gnarlpaw realized what Frothbelly was saying was the truth, but felt the need to cling to her childish anger.

"But you never pay any attention to me! Or my training!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, "You just lay around and watch me fail!"

"You're no kit, Gnarlpaw. You don't need me to hold your paw," Frothbelly said, "After all, you caught that mouse yesterday, right?"

"I guess," Gnarlpaw mumbled, her anger fading. She sat down, scuffing the dirt with her claws. "I just thought...yeah."

There was another silence. Gnarlpaw knew she had behaved like a kit, and she could feel Frothbelly's blue gaze burning into her. She wished that Poppypaw were here to comfort her, but this was her own fault, and she needed to face the consequences. She looked up at Frothbelly, and was surprised to see that a new emotion had crossed their usually blank stare; uncertainty. They looked first down to their paws, then to the leaves above them, and finally back to Gnarlpaw.

"Look," they said, "My mentor trained me how I train you. I don't give you as much guidance as you want because I know you're a fast learner. I know you can do it without me."

"But I forgot," Frothbelly continued as Gnarlpaw gaped at them, "what it was like to be an impressionable apprentice. I realize I haven't been the best mentor, and for that, I apologise."

"O-oh..." Gnarlpaw stammered, "I guess it's o-okay then?" Her mentor's praise lifted her spirits, but she was unsure of what to make of it. Frothbelly seemed sincere: she knew they didn't compliment lightly, especially not cats who made them risk their own fur just moments earlier.

"Anyways," Frothbelly turned away from her, as if embarrassed, "we should get to the training hollow. We need to start battle training today."

"Wait!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, "Aren't I in trouble?"

"No," Frothbelly said, looking back to her, a hint of a grin crossing their muzzle, "That dog taught you enough of a lesson. Now are you coming or not?"

"Okay!" Gnarlpaw hurried after them, and tilted her head, "Can I ask another question?"

"Whatever," Frothbelly responded, eyes focused on the path ahead.

"How did you chase off that dog like that?"

Frothbelly sighed, glancing back at her.

"My father was a kittypet, so I learned a couple of things. Now come on."

The warrior was silent all the way back to the training hollow. For once, Gnarlpaw felt excited to train-and to tell Poppypaw that she had been wrong.


	8. Chapter Six

As they held the bile-soaked moss in their teeth, Raccoonpaw couldn't help but feel bitter. Outside the den, the sounds of play filled the air, dust scattering in all directions as the other apprentices tussled in the clearing. Raccoonpaw could hear their sister's voice in the cacophony, squeaking in surprise as another apprentice bowled her over. They sounded as if they were having fun.

Raccoonpaw was not having fun. Out of all the apprentices, why had they been assigned to clean the elder's ticks? The more jaded part of the apprentice figured it was because Beavertail had known that they would most dislike this job. The pungent mouse bile they could handle- it was the elders, Frostgaze and Heavybelly, that made this job unbearable.

"Are you almost done there, kit?" Frostgaze snapped, his white pelt twitching.

"Not yet," Raccoonpaw grumbled, their muzzle wrinkling. Frostgaze had the thickest fur of anyone in the Clan, and it was a battle to find whatever ticks lie within. It didn't help that he kept shuffling in his nest as soon as Raccoonpaw found a tick, prolonging the job even more.

"When I was an apprentice," Frostgaze began, "I took pride in doing these things. You kits need to remember that this is for the good of your Clan!"

Raccoonpaw bit back a retort. They had half a mind to leave the tick they had just found where it was.

"Don't be so harsh, love," Heavybelly said, eyes half-lidded as he drowsed, "Raccoonpaw is trying their hardest."

The tabby's tone was insincere and condescending, and much worse than the outright hostility of his mate's. Raccoonpaw pulled the last tick from the fur with a jerk, and squashed it in their teeth.

"I'm done," they said dryly, "You're welcome."

"Thank you, kit," Heavybelly purred, thick paws tucked under his round belly, "Don't run off so soon, tell as about your training. Has your swimming improved?"

"Bye," Raccoonpaw darted from the reed-den before they could snap at the old tom. As they retreated, they could hear the cross grumble of Frostgaze and the sicking purr of Heavybelly, and their noses wrinkled, but not because of the mouse bile held in their jaws.

The other apprentices took no notice of Raccoonpaw when they crossed the camp to wash their paws in the stream. Not even Swanpaw took notice; the white she-cat pinned down the older Sweetpaw with a yowl of triumph, only to be bowled over by Lichenpaw. Once their paws were clean, Raccoonpaw lingered by the stream, eyeing the play-fight jealously.

Swanpaw had always been better with the other apprentices. Her cheerful bounciness and sweet demeanor had charmed them to her quickly, more quickly than they were warming up to her sibling. Raccoonpaw knew it was somewhat their fault, that the other apprentices weren't as friendly to them. The apprentice had always been unwilling to socialize, even as a kit. No matter how hard they tried, they would fumble their words in conversation, or crack a joke at a wrong time, and the other cats would end the conversation. It was fine, though. Raccoonpaw crouched by the water, brushing the small waves with their paw.

They preferred the quiet, anyways.

The reeds surrounding the leader's den rustled. Raccoonpaw straightened up in time to see a tall, stern she-cat emerge. Her long, regal head was held high, and despite the wrinkles of age around her eyes, a sense of strength emitted from her. Heronstar, in a few bounds, came to the top of the Sky-Hill and let out a yowl.

"Let all cats old enough to swim in the Lake gather for a Clan meeting!"

At once, the chaotic fight between apprentices silenced, as did the chatter of the camp. Raccoonpaw followed their clanmates to the foot of the hill, and though they tried to catch their sister's eye, they ended up seperated. With a sigh, they sat on the outskirts of the crowd, behind Ducksplash, who was surrounded by her three kits.

Heronstar was joined on the hill by Otterhop, who sat as serious as he could be beside her. It was odd to see the calico-tom without a smile, but as he caught their eye, a mischievous grin crossed his muzzle for a moment.

"We have decided on the cats to attend tonight's gathering," Heronstar said, her voice remarkably unenthusiastic. "Otterhop," Heronstar looked to her deputy, who nodded and stepped in front of her.

"The cats going to the gathering tonight will be Heronstar and myself, of course," he began, "Ducksplash, Gooseheart, Branchtail, Doveflight, Whitebelly, Icegaze, Swanpaw, and Raccoonpaw."

The cheer that followed the announcement dazed Raccoonpaw, and it was only a moment later that they realized their name had been announced as well. A jolt of excitement mingled with anxiety followed.

"Raccoonpaw!" Swanpaw pushed through the crowd to meet them. Her blue eyes gleamed, and she bounced on her paws around them. "We're going to a gathering!"

"Yes, we are!" Raccoonpaw replied.

"I'm so excited!" Swanpaw exclaimed, "I've never met a ShadowClan cat! Or a ThunderClan or Windclan cat! There's gonna be so many cats there!"

"Haha, yeah," Raccoonpaw nodded, grinning despite their fear. Swanpaw was so excited, it was hard not to be excited with her. The white she-cat pressed her soft pelt against theirs and purred.

"Don't worry, I'll stick with you the entire time!"

Before they knew it, the moon was high in the sky, and the gathered cats were sent traveling the length of the lake. Raccoonpaw stuck to Swanpaw's side in the back of the group, nerves returning to them. Were they really ready to meet so many cats? They were bad enough at interacting with their own clanmates, but here they were, about to interact with cats from all five clans. They looked around the pines surrounding them. They weren't trespassing, but the idea of being near ShadowClan territory made them nervous. Soon, they would cross into SkyClan territory.

Would they run into Gnarlpaw again? They hadn't realized it before, but the idea excited them. The hairless apprentice had been really friendly, especially for a cat from another Clan. She would be a familiar face in the gathering, at least.

When the island the gathering would be held on came into view, so did a small group of cats ahead of them. It was Skyclan.

"Hey, Skyclan!" Otterhop called. The cat at the front of the group froze, and then went to meet the RiverClan deputy. It was Bubblefleck, the not-leader. His odd-eyes glowed in an unfriendly but polite way, and his shredded ear flicked.

"Otterhop," he greeted, a hint of a growl in his voice.

"Why don't you travel with us?" Otterhop offered, his tone even and friendly. "After all, it can't be safe travelling with such a small group." Despite the mocking way he said it, Raccoonpaw felt as if the tom had a point. There were only five or six cats in the SkyClan party, and if Raccoonpaw had to bet, half of those cats were the medicine cats.

"Bubblefleck and I would love to," the other leader of SkyClan, Frothbelly, pushed their way to stand in front of their brother. The two looked as if they would rather do anything but travel with RiverClan, but nonetheless, the two clans merged into one and began traveling again.

Before they even had time to search, a loud, familiar voice broke through the crowd.

"Raccoonpaw!"

A tall cat with large ears made her way to them. Raccoonpaw perked up, relieved.

"Gnarlpaw, hi!"

Gnarlpaw bounded towards them, and behind her came a short, fluffy tabby. It took Raccoonpaw a moment to recognize her as the other apprentice they had seen at the confrontation at the border. Her round eyes narrowed when she caught sight of the RiverClan cats, and she trotted after Gnarlpaw with a huff.

"I was worried I wouldn't see you," Gnarlpaw said, taking up step beside the RiverClan apprentice.

"Isn't this that apprentice from before?" the other SkyClan apprentice said, squashed nose twitching.

"Oh right!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, "You two haven't met, have you?" She flicked her tail in the direction of Raccoonpaw, "Poppypaw, this is Raccoonpaw!" She then flicked her tail towards Poppypaw, "Raccoonpaw, this is Poppypaw!"

"Er...nice to meet you?" Raccoonpaw looked down at Poppypaw. She returned their greeting with a curt nod.

"Um..." a soft voice cut through the exchange. Swanpaw was beside Raccoonpaw, uncharacteristically quiet and bashful. Raccoonpaw had forgotten she was there.

"Oh, this is my sister, Swanpaw," Raccoonpaw brushed the she-cat's pelt with their tail. She murmured a greeting,looking at her paws. Raccoonpaw stared at her quizzically. Hadn't she wanted to meet cats from other Clans?

The conversation dwindled; it seemed as if the SkyClan apprentices were made uncomfortable by Swanpaw's quiet. It was a relief when the island came fully into view, and the two clans came to a stop. Raccoonpaw craned their neck to see the tree-bridge resting on the shore.

"We'll be crossing first," Otterhop announced. Heronstar padded past him without sparing a glance at the SkyClan leaders, and leapt onto the tree's trunk. She made her way effortlessly across, unconcerned with the rippling water below her. Following her went the rest of the RiverClan cats, until Raccoonpaw and Swanpaw came to the front of the group, the only two RiverClanners left on the shore. Swanpaw clambered onto the log, and seemed to find her footing.

"Oh, it's not so bad!" She sighed, fur flattening. "Come on, Raccoonpaw!" Soon, she was across the tree and out of sight. Raccoonpaw's legs shook, and they examined the log further, wondering if it was as easy as Swanpaw had made it look.

"Either go across or move," Bubblefleck growled from behind them. Raccoonpaw jumped, and hurried to the side. At once, the black-and-white tom took their place at the log, and the rest of SkyClan followed, leaving Raccoonpaw, Gnarlpaw, and Poppypaw the last cats to cross.

"I'll go first," Gnarlpaw offered, eyes wide with excitement. The lanky she-cat was surprisingly graceful, and once she had dug her claws into the bark, turned to the other two, grinning.

"You said this was hard, Poppypaw!" She said.

"It is," Poppypaw eyed the slippery bark, looking as uncomfortable as Raccoonpaw. "It's hard to stay balanced."

"I can help you," Gnarlpaw purred, and turned her green gaze to Raccoonpaw, "You too, Raccoonpaw!"

"Uh, I can do it," Raccoonpaw lied, "Let me up there."

Gnarlpaw stepped back onto the shore, and Raccoonpaw approached the tree-bridge, legs trembling. They couldn't let these SkyClan apprentices show them up. They were RiverClan, they shouldn't be scared of water. Still, these prideful sentiments were drowned by Raccoonpaw's fear when they made their way onto the log. The bark was slippery, and even with all of their claws dug in, they felt as if they would slide into the dark water below at any moment.

They had made it a quarter of the way across when their paws slipped. Their fearful shriek was cut off when teeth met their scruff.

"I gotcha!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed through a mouthful of fur. She pulled them back onto the log, and Raccoonpaw took a moment to calm down before turning their head to face her.

"Hah, thanks," they said, pelt burning in embarrassment, "That would have been bad."

Raccoonpaw in the lead, the trio inched their way across the trunk, and in a few heartbeats, their paws met solid ground. Raccoonpaw dropped onto the grass. They had never been more relieved to feel dirt under their paws.

"Move, we still need to get down!" Poppypaw exclaimed from behind Gnarlpaw. Raccoonpaw apologized and shuffled to the side, and the SkyClan apprentices hurried to the grass. Poppypaw's thick pelt was ruffled and her tail quivered, but she quickly hid any signs of anxiety and began grooming a small, thick paw.

"That was fun," she said, voice thick with sarcasm.

"There you two are," a deep mew made Raccoonpaw jump. A bulky white cat stepped out of the underbrush, pale eyes glowing. They were as tall as Gnarlpaw, and it took Raccoonpaw a moment to recognize Frothbelly.

"Didn't take you as the type to be scared of the bridge," Frothbelly's voice held a hint of a purr as they addressed their apprentice.

"I wasn't!" Gnarlpaw exclaimed, bounding to meet them, "I was helping my friends!" She flicked her tail at Poppypaw and Raccoonpaw. The white SkyClan cat's gaze lingered on Raccoonpaw, and with a twitch of their whiskers, they snorted.

"Don't you go fraternizing with RiverClan," Frothbelly said, "Don't know what I'd do with an apprentice that did."

Raccoonpaw felt their stomach drop, and fished for a response before realizing Gnarlpaw was purring. Frothbelly's face slackened into a grin, and they nudged Gnarlpaw with their shoulder.

"Just kidding, kit," they said, "Keep out of trouble, okay?" They began to back into the bushes. "I need to help Bubblefleck with the announcements, so I won't be there to watch you."

"We'll be good!" Gnarlpaw promised. Frothbelly's black tail disappeared into the bushes, and Raccoonpaw relaxed. The warrior seemed to be friendlier than they looked- at least, they had a sense of humor that their serious demeanor hadn't let on.

"They're cool," Raccoonpaw said, "Is that your mentor?"

"Yeah," Gnarlpaw responded, "They're kind of weird, but they're really cool!"

"We should hurry up and go to the gathering, I don't want to be late,"Poppypaw huffed. Her nose wrinkled once more, and she padded past the other two,.

Raccoonpaw and Gnarlpaw exchanged a glance, and followed the smaller apprentice. The clammer of many cats speaking filled their ears, and beyond the brambles, the clearing came into sight. Already, it was full of unfamiliar scents and cats, all mingling into one. Raccoonpaw unconsciously inched closer to Gnarlpaw, anxiety fluttering in their chest.

The trio stopped on the outskirts of the crowd. There were more cats than Raccoonpaw had ever seen before, mostly crowded around a large, sprawling oak at the edge of the clearing. In the low hanging branches were the leaders, though Raccoonpaw only recognized Heronstar. They knew at the foot of the tree was where the deputies sat, though they couldn't see them through the crowd. On the edge of the clearing sat Carptail, the RiverClan medicine cat, surrounded by a group of unfamiliar cats Raccoonpaw assumed were the other Clan's medicine cats.

"Woah," Gnarlpaw breathed.

"All the clans are here," Poppypaw said, "But it looks like we haven't started yet."

"Where should we go?" Raccoonpaw asked, more than a little overwhelmed.

"You can go wherever you want," Poppypaw raised an eyebrow, "Don't you want to go to your Clanmates?"

"Oh, uh," Raccoonpaw stammered. They didn't see any of their clanmates in the crowd, besides Frostgaze, who sat with the other elders on the other side of the medicine cats. They didn't even see Swanpaw, who they had thought would wait up for them.

"You could come with us if you want," Gnarlpaw purred, bouncing on her paws, "Right, Poppypaw?"

"Sure," Poppypaw didn't seem happy with the decision, but didn't argue, "Let's get going then. I want to get good spots."

The apprentices pushed their way through the crowd, until they reached an empty patch of grass near the front. Raccoonpaw sighed in relief to be out of the sea of pelts. They took a seat next to Gnarlpaw, who gave them an excited look. The she-cat didn't seem at all bothered by the number of cats from other Clans, instead looking around as if she wanted to talk to all of them.

"This is so cool!" Gnarlpaw said, "Do you think we can talk to the other apprentices?"

"After the Gathering, sure," Poppypaw replied, tucking her paws under her chest, "It's gonna start soon."

"Hey, Poppypaw?" Raccoonpaw asked, "Why aren't you with the other medicine cats? I thought they were supposed to stay together?"

"Tricklestream gave me permission to show Gnarlpaw around," Poppyaw replied, "The other medicine cats aren't very fun to talk to, anyway."

"Heh, I bet," Raccoonpaw snickered, "Carptail is so boring that she doesn't even need poppy seeds to put you to sleep!"

"That's rude!" Poppypaw eyes glimmered with amusement.

"Now that everyone is here," One of the leaders, a ginger tabby, spoke. "Let's start the announcements, shall we?" At once, hush fell over the rest of the cats.

"Of course, Squirrelstar," another leader, this one a dark grey tabby, nodded. "I'm going to start, if that's okay."

"That's Ravenstar," Poppypaw whispered, "They're the WindClan leader."

Raccoonpaw nodded, listening attentively as the leader spoke of a new litter born and a sighting of foxes near the ThunderClan border. Then, it was time for Squirrelstar, who Poppypaw explained to be the ThunderClan leader. She too spoke of general, mundane happenings in the Clan, finishing with a nod towards a small white cat on the branch below her.

"That's Snowstar," Poppypaw explained as the leader got to his paws, "He's ShadowClan's leader."

"Prey has been running well in ShadowClan," he began, "And we have welcomed Gingerwing's new litter into the Clan, Hawkkit and Featherkit." Mews of congratulations rippled across the crowd, and Snowstar waited for them to stop before he continued.

"And, to our relief, Beetail and Vixenheart have returned to the Clan after being taken by the twolegs last leafbare."

The rest of what the tom said was drowned by an uproar of questions and exclamations. Bewildered, Raccoonpaw looked around at the other cats, whose pelts rippled and tails lashed.

"Where did they come from?" A ginger she-cat demanded.

"Do they know where the others are?" Another cat called from somewhere in the crowd.

For a heartbeat, all that Raccoonpaw could hear were the voices of the cats around them. Then, Heronstar yowled from atop the oak.

"We can ask questions later!" She called. The din died down somewhat, and she turned to look at Snowstar, "Continue, if you please."

"Thank you, Heronstar," Snowstar sighed, and continued, "They couldn't be here tonight, but they say they don't know where the other cats ended up. All they know is that twolegs sent them to a large den full of rogues and other Clan cats, before they were taken away and sent to become kittypets."

"Kittypets?" Squirrelstar asked, eyes wide, "Are the twolegs forcing them to become kittypets?"

"They think so, yes," Snowstar said, "We truly don't know anymore, though. Perhaps in time, other cats will return to us."

"Let StarClan guide their paws," Bubblefleck spoke up for the first time. He sat on the lowest branch, next to Frothbelly, who lay down with their tail dangling over open air. Next to the other leaders, the pair looked odd and distinctly not-leaderlike. Still, Bubblefleck stepped to the edge of his branch and peered down at the crowd.

"We will speak now, if I may," Bubblefleck began, "Prey has been running well in SkyClan territory, and we have one new apprentice, Gnarlpaw."

The crowd took up the cheer, and Gnarlpaw ducked down, her ears down and her muzzle twisted in a smile. Raccoonpaw and Poppypaw called her name as well, until the cheer died down. Bubblefleck continued, a shake to his voice.

"SkyClan is strong, and we are willing to defend our borders from any threat," His voice, shaky as it was, became edged with threat. He looked pointedly at Heronstar, who looked unbothered.

"I will speak next," Heronstar said. "We have welcomed three new kits into the Clan: Hollykit, Finchkit, and Lightkit."

There wasn't a wave of congratulations this time; instead, the air was tense, and uneasiness at Bubblefleck's announcement had dampened the mood. Heronstar was unbothered, and she continued.

"Furthermore, we have two new apprentices: Raccoonpaw and Swanpaw."

The cheer was taken up, and all around them, cats chanted Raccoonpaw's name. Pelt burning, they ducked down, and felt Gnarlpaw laugh beside them. They wondered if their sister was as embarrassed as they were, but before they could look around, Heronstar's voice stopped the call.

"Lastly," Heronstar's voice crackled like ice, cold and unwavering, "RiverClan has been growing since the twoleg invasion, and we have found ourselves in need of new territory."

The tension in the air returned. Heronstar's yellow gaze swept across the clearing, silence falling upon Raccoonpaw's ears. A growl rumbled in Poppypaw's throat, and Raccoonpaw shifted. The RiverClan leader's head snapped around to face the SkyClan leaders.

"I've noticed that your clan is awfully small," Heronstar ignored Bubblefleck's venomous growl from beneath her, "And you have more territory than you can possibly patrol in one day. So, I will ask you to relinquish control of the Riverbend border to RiverClan."

A SkyClan tom with a twisted jaw cried out in protest, and a red she-cat hissed wordlessly. Raccoonpaw felt Gnarlpaw and Poppypaw bristle, and remembered in an instant that they were a RiverClan cat.

"How dare you-" Bubblefleck's hiss shook with fury. Before he could finish, Frothbelly stepped forward.

"We will not give up our territory for you, Heronstar," the white warrior said, "As we told you earlier, our territory will not be given without a fight. I won't discuss this further."

Heronstar considered the warrior's words for a moment, and with a flick of her ear, sat back down.

"Bold of you to speak to a leader like that," Heronstar's voice was filled with contempt, "But very well. This will be settled shortly, I promise you."

The threat hung like a storm cloud in the clearing, tension crackling between the Clans like lightning. Raccoonpaw stared up at their leader, uncomfortable with the anger rising in their chest. They were RiverClan, why were they so upset by their leader's words? They glanced around at the crowd. The RiverClan cats they saw didn't look angry; on the contrary, a few seemed satisfied with their leader's words. Why did Raccoonpaw feel bad?

Gnarlpaw caught their eye. To their relief, the she cat's ivy-green gaze held no anger at them, only anxiety and confusion.

"If no one else has anything to say," Squirrelstar cleared her throat, "This gathering is dismissed."

The cats around Raccoonpaw began to move. WindClan and ShadowClan were the first to leave, almost as if they couldn't bear to be in the clearing any longer. Heronstar hopped to the ground and began to converse with Otterhop, while Squirrelstar hopped to the branch were the SkyClan leaders sat. Raccoonpaw strained to hear what the tortoiseshell she-cat was saying, to no avail.

"That was intense," Gnarlpaw gaped at the leaders. "I can't believe Heronstar threatened us like that!"

"If I wasn't a medicine cat, I'd love to claw her!" Poppypaw hissed, tail lashing.

"I know," Raccoonpaw said.

The other two apprentices turned to look at them, whiskers twitching quizzically. At once, Raccoonpaw realized they were a RiverClan cat. They coughed, glancing away.

"I...have to go now. See you later." They got to their paws and darted into the crowd, not looking back. What were they doing? Beavertail would have their tail if he found out they were becoming friends with SkyClan cats. They came to a stop near the edge of the crowd and sighed.

They forgot to wait for Swanpaw before following Heronstar off the island.


End file.
